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Sunday, February 10, 2019

Place for Russian First Private Cosmodrome Revealed

Russia’s first private cosmodrome for suborbital space tourism flights might be built either in the country's Republic of Tatarstan or the Nizhny Novgorod Region, a source in the aerospace industry told Sputnik, adding that talks on the project with the heads of the regions were underway.

"The negotiations on allotting a platform for suborbital tourism are now in their final stage with the two regions. The documents are being prepared for being signed. The platform will be set up on the territory of the region which would be the first to reach the deal," the source said.

The spaceport would be created by the Kosmokurs company, the source continued. The company itself denied commenting on the issue.

The source added that the talks with the regional authorities concerned either the Alkeyevsky District of Tatarstan or the Ardatovsky District of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. After a spot for the cosmodrome is allotted by one of the regions, Kosmokurs is supposed to begin talks with Russian space agency Rosmosmos and other relevant agencies in order to receive the needed licenses and authorizations for carrying out space launches in this very region, according to the source.

Kosmokurs received a license for carrying out its space projects from Roscosmos back in 2017. The company is currently working on a rocket and a spacecraft for carrying out flights to an altitude of 200 kilometers (124 miles). The first flight is expected to be held in 2025.

The company will offer tourists a 15-minute flight within a group of six people. The tourists will be able to stay in zero gravity for five to six minutes, moving freely inside a cabin.

Kosmokurs told Sputnik in 2017 that a ticket for a space flight aboard Russia's first reusable suborbital commercial system would cost around $200,000-250,000.